Animated mechanical toy



April 1, 1952 H. An-o ANIMATED MECHANICAL TOY 2 SliEETS-SHEET 1 FiledAug. 30, 1950 JNVENTOR. HARumRo SAI'PO April 1, 1952 H. SAITO 2,591,469

ANIMATED MECHANICAL TOY Filed Aug. 30, 1950 ,2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR.IIARum o SAlTo Patented Apr. 1, 1952 ANIMATED MECHANICAL TOY HaruhiroSaito, Tokyo, Japan, assignor to I. B, Wolfset & 00., New York, N. Y., afirm Application August 30, 1950, Serial No. 182,196

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in animated toys;and, more particularly, the aim is to provide a novel and valuablemechanical toy which, representative of a four footed animal, and havingfour movably mounted legs and a movably mounted head, includes amechanism, preferably of the clockwork kind including a springfunctioning as the source of power drive incidental to unwinding of saidspring after it has been wound, whereby the animal walks forward apredetermined distance, then stops walking for a predetermined space oftime, then resumes its walking as before, then again stops walking asbefore, and so on.

Also, according to the invention, the head of the animal is swung firstin one direction and then in the other, as from side to side, at regularintervals; this head swinging being maintained all the while the animalis intermittently and alternately walking forward and standing halted asabove.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claim in which variousnovel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 side elevationally shows a toy pursuant to the invention, ascompleted up to the point where there next would be added as the finalstep of manufacture a skin for enveloping the body and head structureshown in this view.

Fig. 2 is, fragmentarily, a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing saidskin as so added; with said skin shown in full lines over the headstructure and over a small forward part of the body structure, and withsaid skin extended further over said body structure as indicated in dotand dash.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the parts of Fig. 1, partially broken awayand partially in section.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan View of the parts of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevational view of a casing inside the shellconstituting said body structure, with a part of said shell, and also apart of the head structure, indicated in dot and dash; said casing forcontaining the mechanism aforesaid and said mechanism for mounting thefour legs and for carrying an operative consection between an element ofthe mechanism and said head structure.

Fig. 6 shows the full line parts of Fig. 5 in top plan.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail, a body structure I5 isshown which comprises a pair of substantially identical cuplike shells I5 and Il, set with their concavities facing and secured together bytongues and slots at. suitably spaced points. Thus, longitudinally ofthe top of the animal, the shells I6 and I! are locked together byhaving tongues l8. and I9 formed thereon sent upward through and thenbent over relative to slots 20 in a thin metal strip 2|; the tongues I8being integral with the shell l6 and the tongues I 9 being integral withthe shell ll. Said shells are further interconnected, at the tail end ofthe animal, as by further tongue and slot means such as indicated at 22.Said shells ar further interconnected by top and bottom strap pieces 23and 24; the strap piece 23 having tongues sent downward through and bentin below slots 25 and 26 respectively in the shells l6 and I1, and thestrap piece 24 having tongues sent upward through and bent in aboveslots 21 and 28 respectively in said shells I6 and ll.

Longitudinally of the bottom of the animal, said shells l6 and H arealso looked together by four tongues 30 (compare Figs. 4 and 5) two ofsaid tongues being downwardly sent through a pair of slots 3| in theshell I6 and then bent over and two of said tongues being downwardlysent through a pair of slots 32 in the shell I! and then bent over.

Said tongues 30 are integral with the casing aforesaid for the clockworkmechanism and associated parts; which casing is shown as incorporating aframe 33 U-shaped in top plan, closed in across its rear end by a weight34 held in place by a rivet pin, 35.

As. will be noted from Fig. 3, the shell 16 is shaped so as to present asubstantially semicircular opening 36 at its forward end, and the shellI! is similarly shaped, that it to present a substantially semicircularopening 31 at its forward end.

The head structure shown, this as ,a whole designated 38, is alsocomprised of a pair of substantially identical cuplike shells 39 and 40,set with their concavities facing and secured togeth er by tongue andslot means at suitable points as indicated at 4| and 42. As will benoted from Fig. 3, the shell 39 is open at its rear end, there toestablish a semicircular opening 43, and the shell 40 is open at itsrear end, there to establish a semicircular opening 44.

Said head structure 38 is also shown as having a pair of apertures 45,each of these for use in securing a wire of the known kind as carried by.and a lower aperture.

such an artificial eye as indicated at 46 in Fig. 2; a pair of slots 41,each of these for facilitating in a familiar way the wedge anchorage ofan artificial ear such as indicated at 48; and a slot 49 at a side ofthe shell 39 for a purpose later to be explained.

Said shells 39 and 46 of the head structure 38 are further provided withtongue and slot interconnecting means by way of top and bottom strappieces 50 and the strap piece 56 having a pair of tongues sent downwardthrough and bent in below slots 52 and 53 respectively in the shells 39and 40, and the strap piece 5I having a pair of tongues sent upwardthrough and bent in above slots 54 and 55 respectively in said shells39' and 48.

Central extensions from the top strap pieces 23 and 50 are shaped foroverlap, and central extensions from'the strap pieces 24 and 5I also areshaped for overlap; all four of these extensions having apertures whichare aligned when the head structure 38 is pivotally mounted to have aprevised axis of swing relative to the body structure I5; and thispivotal mounting is provided by a wire pivot member 56 sent through allsaid apertures and given offset bends as shown at its upper and lowerends.

The left fore leg is as a whole marked 51, the right fore leg is as awhole marked 58, the left hind leg is as a whole marked 59 and the righthind leg is as a whole marked 66. These legs, at their feet andfeet-adjacent portions, are of increased width, as shown, relative totheir upper 'slenderized more or less plate-like portions; said legsbeing desirably of hollow construction, for lightness of weight, as bybeing made of suitably interconnected shell members of thin metal orplastic.

For permitting movement of the legs while the animal is walking,openings as shown best in Fig. 4, are provided in the bottoms of theshells I6 and I1.

The two fore legs 51 and 58 are exactly alike in construction; each ofthese legs having a bifurcated upper end to provide a slot and alsohaving an aperture at a point below and in line with said slot. In Figs.5 and 6, in the case of the left fore leg 51, said slot is designated 6Iand said aperture 62. Engaged in the slot BI is .a, pin 63 rigidlyoffset from the casing 33, and

journalled in the aperture 62 is one crank-arm end, 64, of a cross shaft65.

, The mounting of the right fore leg 58 is, as shown at the upper partof Fig. 6, exactly like that of the left fore leg 51, except that thereis journalled in the aperture of the leg 58 corresponding to theaperture 62 a crank-arm end, 66, of the cross shaft 65 which is offset180 from said crank-arm end 64 of said shaft. A pin 61 rigidly offsetfrom the side of the casing 33 adjacent to the leg 58 corresponds to thepin 63 for coaction with said leg 58 as the pin 63 coacts with the leg51.

' The two hind legs 59 and 60 also, are exactly alike in construction;each of these legs having therethrough at its upper end an upperaperture In Figs. 5 and 6, in the case of the left hind leg 59, saidupper aperture is designated 68 and said lower aperture 69. Ex-

tended through the casing 33 is a cross pivot pin 10, carrying beyondeach of the opposite sides of said casing a spacing sleeve 1i; one endof saidpin, beyond a sleeve 1I, extending through saidaperture 69. andthe opposite end of said pin, beyond the other sleeve 1I, extendingthrough the lower aperture of the leg 60. Mounted in the aperture 68 isa pivot'pin 12; and connecting the crank-arm end 64 and said pin 12 is alink 13.

The mounting of the right hind leg 66 is, as

shown at the upper part of Fig. 6, exactly like that of the left hindleg 59. As just above already stated, the cross pivot pin 10 mounts thesaid leg as well as the leg 59; while, on said leg 60, there is mounteda pivot pin'14 which in placement and function corresponds to the pivotpin 12; and connecting this pivot pin 14 "and the crank-arm end 66 is alink 15.

As will now be clear, during rotation of the shaft 65, in acounter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 5, the crank-arm end 64 ofsaid shaft will cause the left fore leg 51 at a point thereon defined bythe axis of the aperture 62 to travel in a counter-clockwise directionthrough a circular path about the axis of the main central length of theshaft causing the leg to move downward when inclined forward and to moveupward when inclined rearward. Due to the accompanying action of thestationary pin 63 relative to the slot 6| in the leg 51, the lower endof the leg is moved backward during most of the travel of the crank-armend 64 over the lower half of its path of circular travel in forwardpropelling tractive relation to the supporting surface on which theanimal is placed. During most of the travel of the crankarm end 64 theupper half of its path of circular travel, the lower end of the leg 51is raised and moved forward out of tractive relation to said supportingsurface.

This alternately occurring entry of the leg 51 into and out of tractiverelation to said supporting surface, according, respectively, as saidleg is being swung backward or forward, takes place as just abovedescribed, because while the said leg 51 is being swung backward theright fore leg 58 is being swung forward, and vice versa, due to thecrank-arm end 66 being offset as aforesaid, from the crank-arm end 64.And due to said 180 offset as between the crank-arm ends 64 and 66,while the left fore leg 51 is being swung backward the right fore leg 58is being swung forward, and vice versa.

Meanwhile, due to the connections effected by the links 13 and 15between, respectively, the left fore and hind legs 51 and 59, and theright fore and hind legs 58 and 66, as a fore leg reaches the extremelimit of its forward swing the hind leg at that side of the animalreaches the extreme limit of its rearward swing, and vice versa. In thisconnection, note that, in the case of the link 13, for example, itsforward end is connected to a fore leg at a point thereon below a fixedpivotal mount (the pin 63) for said fore leg, while the rear end of saidlink is connected to the associated rear leg at a point thereon above afixed be rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 5'duringunwinding of a spring 19. Said shaft 18 carries a winding key 80,whereby said spring may be manually wound.

Unwinding of said spring 19, in addition to being effective as alreadydescribed, and particularly by way of rotation of the gear segment IT,for causing the animal to walk forward a predetermined distance, then tostop walking for a predetermined interval of time, then to resume itswalking as before, then again to stop walking as before, and so on, isfurther effective to cause swinging of the head of the animal from sideto side, first in one direction and then in the other, at regularintervals, while the animal has stopped walking temporarily and alsowhile it is walking; while the clockwork mechanism also incorporates acollection of parts to retard the rate of unwinding of the spring to anideal extent, all as will be clear from what now follows.

Fixed on said shaft 18, and spaced from the gear segment 11 by a collar8|, is a spur gear 82 meshing with a pinion 83 fixed on a shaft 84. Alsofixed on said shaft 84 is a spur gear 85; this gear meshing with apinion 86 fixed on a shaft 81. Also fixed on said shaft 81 is a spurgear 88 meshing with a pinion 89 fixed on a shaft 90. Also fixed on saidshaft 90 is a spur gear 9| meshing with a pinion 92 fixed on a shaft 93;and also fixed on said shaft 92 is an air-friction speed retarder member94.

One end of the shaft 84 is formed to include a crank arm 95, and to thiscrank the rear end of a link 96 is connected. The forward end of saidlink is also connected, rockably, to a side of the head structure 38;such connection as herein shown being by way of the aforesaid slot 49 ata side of the shell 39. To effect this connection, the forward endportion of the link 96 is extended through said slot, and then bent andoppositely crimped to establish such a coupling formation as indicatedat 91 in Fig. 5.

Thus, in prevised timed relation to the speed of walking of the animal,the animals head is wagged or swung slowly from side to side; this headmovement continuing as well during the times that the animal is notwalking.

In addition to eyes such as the one indicated at 45, and ears such asthe one indicated at 48, the head of the animal is enveloped in asuitable skin, such as that shown at 98 Fig. 2 and there having themuzzle and snout or nose markings 99 and I00. This skin may be of anysuitable material, as plush or the like, to represent a coat of fur. Itmay be a single enveloping skin for the head and the body, as indicatedin dot and dash in Fig. 2; with sufficient fullness at the animals neckto permit the described wagging of the animals head. Or there may be anelastically stretchable insert in said envelope at and around, or atopposite sides of, the neck location. r there may be an enveloping skinfor the animal's head, and another enveloping skin for the animal'sbody, with one of these skins overlapping the other at the necklocation.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise construction herein disclosed and the right is reserved to allchanges and modifications coming within the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

A walking toy simulating a four-legged animal, comprising a figureshaped to represent the body of said animal, individually movable forelegs and hind legs depending from said body and representative of theanimals legs, a motor driving a segmental gear, means for simultaneouslyoppositely moving each pair of hind legs and fore legs relative to asupporting surface on which the animal is placed thereby to cause thetoy to walk by a tractive backward swing first of one fore leg and thenof the other fore leg relative to said surface, a mounting means foreach of said fore legs near its upper end, said mounting 'means in thecase of each of said fore legs including a slot at the upper portion ofsaid leg extended generally longitudinally thereof, a fixed pin engagingsaid slot, a crank arm revolubly connected to said upper leg portion ata point below the lower end of said slot, a crank shaft from which saidcrank arms are offset one from another to cause one fore leg to moveforward while the other moves rearward and vice versa, and a pinion onsaid crank shaft meshing with said segmental gear to cause said crankshaft to be turned during one part of the rotation of said segmentalgear and to be nonrotative during the remaining portion of the rotationof said segmental gear to intermittently operate said legs to cause theanimal to alternately walk and stand still.

HARUHIRO ISAITO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,248,072 Cardinal Nov. 27, 19171,538,140 Spelling May 19, 1925 1,695,205 Price Dec. 11, 1928 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 231,178 Great Britain Sept. 17, 1925 706,354Germany May 24, 1941

